UDHR & Other Human Rights Instruments

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is customary internal law ushered in by the United Nations Charter which all member states of the United Nations (UN) including Jamaica have adopted, pledging to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human rights of all. They way a government treats its own citizens is a matter of legitimate international concern and not simply a domestic issue.

The UDHR has been elaborated in subsequent international human rights instruments. Ratification of international human rights treaties establishes a legal framework of obligation and accountability that complements and reinforce national and regional instruments which all help to measure progress in development. Below is a list of international, regional and national instruments ratified for the protection and promotion of human rights in Jamaica.